Laws tightened due to war in Ukraine: Latvia orders the first Russians to leave the country

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According to the migration authority in Riga, six Russians have received a corresponding decision. Two of them had already left the country, authority head Maira Roze said on Latvian television on Friday. The remaining four must now do this within 30 days. The background is the changes to Latvian immigration law adopted in autumn 2022 in response to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.

Anyone who wants to continue living legally in Latvia with a Russian passport must now apply for permanent residence status and – with a few exceptions – prove through a language test that they have everyday knowledge of Latvian. People who have not provided proof in time and have not met the legal requirements for obtaining a residence permit must leave the Baltic EU and NATO country.

1000 people affected

According to authorities, around 1,000 people are currently affected. According to available information, more than a fifth of them had already left Latvia via another EU state, Roze said. Nearly twenty other affected people cited family reasons for staying in Latvia that could still be proven. For everyone else, the border guard goes to their last registered place of residence and checks whether the person is there or not, and orders them to leave the country if necessary.

Latvia borders Russia to the east. In the Baltic state, the minority of Russian origin makes up about a quarter of the 1.9 million inhabitants. The majority are Soviet-era immigrants and their descendants. Many of them – especially the elderly – are not Latvian citizens, but so-called non-citizens, others have Russian passports. (SDA)

Source: Blick